The German officially takes over as head coach on 1 January and will take heart from the draw: England have never lost to any of the teams they will face on the road to the tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Scotland are in a four-team group, and will face the loser of the Nations League quarter-final tie between Portugal and Denmark, along with Greece and Belarus. Steve Clarke’s men also face Greece in a Nations League promotion-relegation playoff in March.
Wales have drawn Belgium, North Macedonia, Kazakhstan and Liechtenstein as they aim to qualify for a second successive World Cup. Wales met Belgium in qualifying for the last World Cup, and even more recently in the 2022 Nations League. They famously beat Belgium 3-1 to reach the semi-finals of Euro 2016, but have not won any of the sides’ subsequent four meetings.
The Republic of Ireland have been drawn against the winner of the Portugal v Denmark Nations League tie, along with Hungary and Romania. Like Scotland, the Republic face a Nations League promotion-relegation play-off tie in March, in their case against Bulgaria.
Northern Ireland will face either Germany or Italy – each a fourtime World Cup winner – plus Slovakia and Luxembourg as they seek to qualify for the first time since 1986.
This story is from the December 14, 2024 edition of The Independent.
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This story is from the December 14, 2024 edition of The Independent.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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